Foxes

admin
, 31 January 2020
Foxes
© Karen Diton

By Charlotte Owen

WildCall Officer

Winter is a busy season for foxes.  If there are any living near you – and there probably are – you’ll be well aware of just how active they are at this time of year, yapping and screaming at all hours of the night and leaving plenty of unmistakable foxy scent. 

Scent is probably too delicate a word for the pungent, musky tang of fox.  Foxes are undeniably smelly but they positively pong when their natural odour intensifies for the winter breeding season.  An accidental lungful of fresh fox scent is enough to make your eyes water, even to our inferior human noses, but foxes have a much keener sense of smell and scent is their prime method of communication.  Their musk is a complex mixture of more than 80 different compounds and is packed full of pheromones, wafting around their bodies like a cloud of intoxicating perfume.  Each individual has a unique aroma that allows them to broadcast their identity and breeding status to potential mates, as well as their strength and bravado to potential rivals.

To make sure they smell the way they should, foxes have scent glands all over their bodies.  Like cats and dogs, they have a pair of anal glands at the rear end and they also emit eau de fox from glands on their cheeks and jaws, across their skin and even between their toes.  There’s a special scent gland at the base of their tail that apparently smells like violets, and it’s so active during the breeding season that its waxy secretions often stain the fur dark. 

Scent is especially important when it comes to marking territory, and fox urine is potent enough to leave a long-lasting message.  One intrepid researcher determined just how long by bottling some fox-scented sawdust in a jar, which still stank when it was opened five years later.  Laying down such a strong chemical signal sends an unmistakeable territorial message to keep out, and a mated pair will even mark each other to mingle their scents and strengthen the pair bond.  Trespassers are not tolerated and the resident pair will voice their outrage while chasing them off into the night.

Leave a comment

Comments

  • Carolyn L Aronson:

    How can I determine if a fox has kits in a recently dug den? Our neighbors have chickens and I’m finding feathers in my yard and they are missing chickens from their small backyard flock.

    21 May 2026 20:42:00

  • Sussex Wildlife Trust:

    Hi Carolyn - young foxes are very active at this time of year - if you can see the den, you could try waiting at a distance from it, around dusk, and see who emerges. Or you could recommend your neighbours put a trailcam in their backyard to determine what's happening to the hens.  

Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1788226908.08870 [907] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1788226908.12730.0386Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1788226908.12750.0002Server address: 216.73.216.54
1788226908.12750.0001Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1788226908.12750Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/foxes
    [s] => foxes
    [1] => foxes
)
1788226908.12790.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1788226908.12940.0015 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1788226908.13190.0026 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1788226908.13290.001INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1788226908.1390.0061 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=24667554
1788226908.140.0011 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=24667554
1788226908.14090.0009 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-09-01 01:41:00' AND saleTo>'2026-09-01 01:41:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1788226908.14270.0018 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='foxes')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-09-01 01:41:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1788226908.14710.0044 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1788226908.1480.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=1954 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-09-01 01:41:00'
1788226908.14930.0013 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1788226908.15040.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1788226908.15150.0011 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=181 LIMIT 1
1788226908.15220.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=91 LIMIT 1
1788226908.1530.0008Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1788226908.15330.0002 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1788226908.15440.0012 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-09-01 01:41:00' AND postSlug='foxes'
1788226908.20730.0529Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1788226908.20790.0006 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1788226908.21020.0022Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1788226908.21050.0003 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1788226908.2120.0015 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1788226908.21420.0023 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1788226908.21860.0043 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1788226908.21940.0009 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1788226908.22270.0033Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1788226908.22280.0001 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1788226908.22360.0008 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1788226908.22410.0005 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1788226908.22670.0026 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1788226908.22760.0009 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1788226908.22840.0008 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1788226908.23120.0028 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1788226908.23240.0012 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1788226908.23550.0031 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1788226908.2360.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1788226908.23620.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1788226908.23710.0009Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1788226908.23750.0004 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='foxes')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-09-01 01:41:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1788226908.24030.0028 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1788226908.2410.0007 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1788226908.24460.0036Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1788226908.24550.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=1954 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1788226908.32410.0786 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1788226908.32470.0006Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1788226908.32480.0001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1788226908.32570.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1788226908.32660.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1788226908.32740.0008 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1788226908.33060.0032 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1788226908.33130.0007 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1788226908.33410.0028 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1788226908.33520.0011 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1788226908.33610.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1788226908.33680.0008 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1788226908.34080.004 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1788226908.34150.0007 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1788226908.34440.0028 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1788226908.34780.0034 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1788226908.34880.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1788226908.34950.0007 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1788226908.35240.0029 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1788226908.35320.0008 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1788226908.35650.0033 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1788226908.35910.0026 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1788226908.36030.0013 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1788226908.36130.001 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1788226908.36510.0038 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1788226908.3660.0009 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1788226908.36920.0032 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1788226908.37090.0017Request time: 0.2859
1788226908.37090Process time: 0.2857
1788226908.37090Memory: 1.6224